Mods in video games sometimes find a way to become as popular as the game itself. With Half-Life 2 and the release of Valve's Source engine, those that love tinkering with games were given a completely new platform to enjoy. The results led to some of the most popular mods of all time across all games.

The mods made for Half-Life 2 ranged from enhancing the base game to creating all-new experiences for people to have. Some of the mods in the latter category even became so big that they were later developed into full game releases. If players want a solid modding experience, Half-Life 2 is one to try.

Related: Half-Life: Amazing Mods We Still Remember

Updated on April 2, 2022, by Chris Birsner: It has nearly been 18 years since the release of Half-Life 2. The genre-defining first-person shooter still ranks among the best games to come out this century, which may be why the community around the game is still as active as it is today. Specifically, mods continue to be created and downloaded by players to try new ways of experiencing a game they've loved for a long time. Whether it is simple aesthetic changes to complete overhauls of the game's story or gameplay, there's no limit to what Half-Life 2 modders can do with a game like this in the Source engine. As such, it's worth highlighting even more of the best Half-Life 2 mods.

15 Research And Development

A jail cell with a creature in it from the Research and Development Half-Life 2 mod

Mod by Mbortolino

With this mod those who are looking to avoid getting in shootouts with enemies can enjoy the violence without needing to pull out a gun, or at least a gun with actual bullets.

The Research and Development mod arms players with a Gravity Gun but has been described as being a similar format to a point-and-click adventure game. Players must use the few tools given to them to traverse through the world and solve as many puzzles as possible. This is one of the best Half-Life 2 mods for people who enjoyed the puzzle side of the original game.

14 Cosmonaut

The rocket in Cosmonaut Half Life 2 Mod

Mod By Dolmo

A mod specifically for Half-Life 2: Episode 2, Cosmonaut is a brand new adventure that expands upon the existing universe of Half-Life. You play as a cosmonaut, otherwise known as a Russian astronaut, who has returned to Earth from their mission to find that the Combine has taken over.

The mod features a new story and settings with lots of the same gameplay that makes going through Half-Life 2 a lot of fun. The mod was expanded upon and released after it was simply an entry in the NostaliaVille challenge.

13 The Gate 2

Area 51 offices in The Gate 2 Half Life 2 Mod

Mod By C J Beattie

Those who have used mods for the original Half-Life may have heard of The Gate. This movie-like mod was given a sequel in Half-Life's sequel, and it's easily one of the best mods to experience in Half-Life 2.

The main plot of The Gate 2 takes place just after the plot of its predecessor and features the main protagonist going on adventures throughout the galaxy, visiting different planets, and fighting unique enemies. The game has a full cast of voice actors as well as a unique musical score.

12 Silent Hill: Alchemilla

An eerie hallway in Silent Hill Alchemilla Half Life 2 Mod

Mod By White Noise

When you think about the horror genre, one of the first franchises that comes to mind is Silent Hill from Konami. Because of its prominence, it was only a matter of a time before modders decided to put the property in different games.

Related: Half-Life: Scariest Enemies in the Games, Ranked

Silent Hill: Alchemilla is from a few creators who wanted to see Silent Hill in the Source Engine. It takes all the concepts that made the original games lots of fun and molded it into the new engine with an entirely new story built from the ground up.

11 Nightmare House 2

A few dead bodies on the ground of the hospital in the Nightmare House 2 Half-Life 2 mod

Mob By We Create Stuff

Continuing with the horror theme, Nightmare House was a startling mod about a man who crashed his car outside an old house and the scary events that followed. However, Nightmare House 2 is not only a solid continuation of that story, but it is also considered one of the best mods of Half-Life 2.

In this sequel, the player wakes up in a hospital that is seemingly abandoned. With little memory of the events that led to you being there, you must navigate the hospital facing both the present and the past.

10 The Citizen

A man holding a gun in a convenient store in The Citizen Half Life 2 Mod

Mod By Kasberg and Playbus

So far, all of these mods have told a story completely separate from that in the base game of Half-Life 2. The Citizen, however, takes place at the same time as the events of the original adventure.

The premise is that an ordinary man who has lost everything he holds near and dear has decided that he's had enough, leaving his apartment behind and joining the resistance against the Combine. The story plays out over nine maps and there is even a sequel that has come out.

9 Entropy: Zero

A dark surveillance room in the Entropy: Zero Half-Life 2 mod

Mod By Breadman

Sometimes, it's fun to take on the role of the bad guy in video games. Luckily, players can fill those shoes in one of the best Half-Life 2 mods, Entropy: Zero. Specifically, players take on the role of a Metrocop that is serving the Combine regime.

In a story that is based before the events of the original game, the mod tells a four-chapter story of the player as they attempt to fight back against the rebels and reclaim territory that once belonged to the Combine. This mod allows you to have fun with Metrocop weapons like the Stunstick and the AR2.

8 Get A Life

Shooting down a helicopter with new UI in Get A Life Half Life 2 Mod

Mod By The Get A Life Team

How does an 11-hour adventure campaign sound for a mod? In Get A Life, players take on the role of a subway technician that is suffering from leukemia. While he may seem like an average character, the events that unfold during the story show that there is something unique and different about him.

The game takes place across 24 different maps and features a whole new HUD that allows for new gameplay. This includes a different type of healing system as well as drug buffs and weapon upgrades.

7 SMOD

A new NPC in the SMOD Half-Life 2 mod

Mod By SMOD: Tactical Developer's Group

Many of the best Half-Life 2 mods listed thus far feature completely new stories in the game's world, or at least made in the Source Engine. However, those who are just looking for some significant upgrades to the original game should look no further than the SMOD.

Some of the new enhanced features include the ability for Gordon to kick enemies, a slow-down effect that occurs during an intense shootout, a plethora of new NPCs to interact with, and over 20 new weapons for Gordon to pick up along the way. There are some visual effects in the game have also gotten an upgrade.

6 Mission Improbable

A far shot of the Resistance listening tower in Mission Improbable Half Life 2 Mod

Mod By Magnar Jenssen

While it's nice seeing all the adventures that could take place with different characters, sometimes it's nice just to play as Gordan Freeman himself on a new story arc. Released specifically as a mod for Half-Life 2: Episode 2, Mission Improbable puts Freeman on a mission to reactivate a listening post for the Resistance.

However, all hell begins to break loose, and it's once again up to Freeman to try to calm things down. The mod uses a lot of original art, with over 300 new models and textures implemented.

5 Black Mesa

The Gonarch in Black Mesa Half Life 2 Mod

Mod By Crowbar Collective

Want to relive the wild ride that is Half-Life but have it look like it was built in Half-Life 2? A mod that later turned into a game released on Steam, Black Mesa takes everything about the original game and places it into the newer Source Engine that made the sequel what it was.

Related: Ways That Half-Life Has Aged Poorly & Ways It's Aged Well

While the textures were completely remade, so was everything else from the soundtrack to the voice acting as well. While the game can be purchased on Steam, players can still download both parts of the original mod to this day.

4 Water

Water the mermaid playing her harp for an individual in the Water Half-Life 2 mod

Mod By Half Life: Short Stories Team

Half-Life 2 has always been known for its first-person gameplay. However, players have a character model that they could see from a third-person perspective. With Water, players will get to see their character from the over-the-shoulder camera angle in one of the best mods for Half-Life 2.

The mod tells a story about a mermaid who travels to a Fishtown to meet a bunch of Fish People. This puzzle game requires players to use the mermaid's magical powers to help solve puzzles that she runs into throughout her journey. Since the player character is a mermaid, players can swim around a map and also apparently play a harp.

3 The Stanley Parable

A long hallway in The Stanley Parable Half Life 2 Mod

Mod By Galactic Cafe

Another mod that went on to become a hit game on Steam, The Stanley Parable decided to take a much sillier approach to the Half-Life 2 modding scene. This is a story about a man named Stanley who is working in an office that suddenly has no one else working inside it.

The game revolves around a non-linear narrative that allows players to explore the office however they see fit. There are multiple choices that you can make that lead to various different endings, some more serious than others. The game is probably the best version, but the mod isn't far behind.

2 Garry's Mod

A man riding a jet ski on the default map of Garrys Mod Half Life 2

Mod By Garry Newman

There is so much to love about every asset that makes up the Half-Life universe. So wouldn't it be fun to be able to play with it all inside a sandbox? Garry's Mod, yet another experiment that eventually became a widely popular game, lets players not only use characters and items from Half-Life in any way they want.

It also pulls from Valve franchises Counter-Strike and Day of Defeat to let players do whatever they want with it. It is essentially a mod that serves as a tool for regular players to mod the game themselves.

1 Minerva

A chamber in Minerva Metastasis Half Life 2 Mod

Mod By Adam Foster

It is not often that a game mod gets its own Wikipedia page, but Minerva is definitely deserving of it. Created by Adam Foster, who wanted to build each of his maps with a focus on the environment rather than gameplay, Minerva is set in the Half-Life universe where players take on the role of a renegade of the Combine Overwatch.

The story plays out where you will only encounter hostile enemies and the only other interaction you have is through the voice of Minerva, who is not physically present. Because of his work, Foster was eventually hired by Valve.

Next: Things You Didn't Know About The Half-Life Franchise